Borough Inspector Paul Yearwood said the 38.3% increase in the borough was his “biggest headache” and offered two explanations for the dramatic rise.

He blamed the spiralling popularity of satellite navigation systems (sat-nav) as a major problem because of their attractiveness to thieves.

“In the 1980s, thieves targeted radio cassette players in car. In the 1990s, it was DVD players, and now it is sat-nav,” he said.

The device is attractive to criminals because it is small, portable, easy to sell and worth a substantial sum of money.

Car owners are most at risk if they leave the system visible when parked or if the cradle is left attached to the windscreen. Telltale signs include the suction marks left on windscreens even after the owner has removed the device.

Insp Yearwood added that the rise in vehicle theft is also due to a combination of careless car owners and opportunistic criminals.

He said: “Surrey is a very safe place, but this has led to complacency and people are regularly leaving their vehicles unlocked, particularly when parked on the drive at home.

“Thieves have realised this and grab whatever they can from inside.

“Placing valuables in the boot is no longer recommended, as thieves will sit in car parks and watch, then break into the vehicle.

“Laptops and mobile phones with Bluetooth technology may be identified by thieves and targeted.

“Just a few simple precautions could stop you falling victim to these thieves and reverse this trend.” Speaking at the Molesey, Hinchley Wood and Dittons Police and Community Partnership Group (PCPG) meeting last Wednesday, Insp Yearwood conceded that his crime report was a “mixed bag of news”.

House burglaries in Elmbridge are up 3.3% from the last financial year. He attributed this to a spate of incidents over Christmas and New Year, adding that Surrey Police hoped to bring the figure down to a negative figure by March.

Yet reports of robbery are down by 27.1% and criminal damage down 2.9% from the last financial year.

Other prominent issues addressed at the meeting included CCTV usage, the problem of youths congregating in Claygate and tackling graffiti.

“Overall, there is no significant crime in the area at the moment,” Insp Yearwood said.